Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee

“Long-term, I think the game is over from a buyout perspective. I think private capital has won that game,” says Randy Schwimmer, vice-chairman and chief investment strategist at Churchill Asset Management, a leading middle market financing and investment firm with $55 billion in AUM. In the latest episode of the Credit Exchange podcast with Lisa Lee, Schwimmer notes 90% of the leveraged buyouts c...

“One interesting canary in the coal mine that has not been materially recognised, is the health of the consumer,” says Dan Zwirn, CEO, CIO and co-founder of Arena Investors, on the latest episode of Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee. Zwirn has observed delinquencies in unsecured obligations increase materially, as well as stress in areas like the sub-prime auto market. Original issue consumer lenders...

“Volatility is now certain. Before, we feared chaos because no-one knew what was coming. Now, it’s priced in” – Alan Schrager, senior partner at Oak Hill Advisors, in the latest episode of Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee. Focus on Treasury markets, advises Schrager. “As a professional investor, what we look at are actually the Treasury markets. They’re sending this signal that there’s this risk inhe...

The likelihood of a September rate cut has edged higher. “They will move ahead with that,” predicts Brad Rogoff, head of global research at Barclays, in the latest Credit Exchange podcast with Lisa Lee. He adds, however, that the market “does need to get used to lower job numbers,” citing what’s currently taking place with immigration and fewer people coming into the workforce. “Just to have a hea...

“We’ve been increasing our exposure to prime office,” says Michael Buchanan, chief investment officer at Western Asset, a fixed income specialist owned by Franklin Templeton, in the latest Credit Exchange podcast with Lisa Lee. New York office property, especially the higher end, is doing very well, Buchanan observes. Also attractive are hotels, lodging, offices, multi-family accommodation and war...

“From what I could see in our proprietary data, we are seeing a bit of a slowdown,” says Lauren Basmadjian, head of liquid credit at Carlyle, a powerhouse with USD 199bn in credit assets under management, in the latest ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast with Lisa Lee. It's early days, with only about 10% of the portfolio companies that Carlyle lends to having reported thus far. Cautioning that it’s not ful...

“There’s nothing more compelling than live sports,” says Mark Attanasio, co-founder of asset manager Crescent Capital Group, on the latest Credit Exchange podcast with Lisa Lee. The marketplace, now some USD 3tn in size, has the most-watched programs in media, as well as the ability to bring communities together. Attanasio, who is the principal owner of the Major League Baseball team the Milwaukee...

Corporates have showcased resilience in navigating policy shifts, according to Amanda Lynam, Head of Macro Credit Research within the Portfolio Management Group at BlackRock, on the latest edition of the ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast with Lisa Lee. Lynam also noted the surprising resilience of corporates to navigating a higher cost of capital. But she advises monitoring the very important feedback loo...

“I’ve continued to see large investors, both on the individual side [and] on the institutional side, continue to rotate their portfolios into fixed income,” said Wayne Dahl, co-portfolio manager of global credit and global credit investment grade strategies at Oaktree Capital Management, on the latest edition of the ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast with Lisa Lee. Economic growth will slow, forecast Dahl,...

“We've done our first trades and some of the first trades in the industry in investment grade private,” says Matt Eagan, who heads the full discretion team at Loomis Sayles and oversees USD 80bn of AUM, on the latest edition of the Credit Exchange podcast with Lisa Lee. Eagan, who sits on the asset manager’s board of directors, likens investing nowadays to Ozzy Osbourne’s song Crazy Train. Structu...

“We know there’s a big pan-European need for financing,” says Mathew Cestar, president of Arini, one of the fastest growing alternative credit managers, on the latest edition of the Credit Exchange podcast with Lisa Lee. Cestar, who has more than 25 years of experience in European credit markets and once headed a major investment bank, details the evolution of capital markets in the region, from h...

“We’re at a reasonable balance now.” That’s the view of Stephen Ketchum, founder and CEO of Sound Point Capital Management, regarding the state of credit markets in June on the latest edition of the ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast with Lisa Lee. Sound Point, an alternative asset manager with over USD 43bn in AUM, de-risked its portfolio earlier this year, when the firm felt there was a little bit too mu...

While private credit broadly has showcased resilience and strength, “under the surface, not everything is as rosy,” according to James Reynolds, global co-head of private credit at Goldman Sachs. Reynolds spoke with Lisa Lee, managing director at Creditflux and editor-at-large at Debtwire , at this year’s Debtwire Private Credit Forum Europe in London on 17 June. Goldman has started tracking the d...

The mood at the Global ABS 2025 structured credit industry confab this week was positive, according to bankers, asset managers and investors at the Barcelona conference. Taped (mostly) live in Spain, Credit Exchange host Lisa Lee caught up with guests from Bank of America, hedge fund King Street, Blackstone and Federated Hermes. Alex Batchvarov, managing director, global research at Bank of Americ...

The M&A market is normalising, said Matt Theodorakis, co-head of European direct lending at Ares, in the latest ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast, recorded at the SuperReturn International conference in Berlin, Germany. “People are looking to do deals going forward” after taking a pause following ‘Liberation Day’, Theodorakis told host Lisa Lee, managing editor at Creditflux. Investors – limited partn...

Investors aren’t being paid enough a premium for the risks in US corporate credit, said Bryan Whalen, chief investment officer of fixed income at TCW, on the latest ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. Whalen, who oversees USD 180bn in fixed income assets, contends investment-grade corporate credit spreads should be paying 50% more than they are. Investors should be getting 120 basis points of...

“Look at credit markets, they behaved quite differently this time,” said Eddie O’Neill, co-head of global liquid credit at KKR, about the period of volatility that whipped global financial markets in April. “They were very stable.” When equity markets were volatile, credit markets did see some selling off but in a very orderly repricing of risk. There was “no blood in the streets, no sustained buy...

People fail to give the private equity funds the credit they deserve, said Susan Kasser, head of Neuberger Berman Private Debt, on the latest ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. Whilst in terms of investment opportunities, it has been a less productive start to the year, private equity funds have found interesting investment opportunities. Neuberger Berman has already committed to financing a...

Private credit is fast growing, and will take market share away from the public leveraged finance markets, Blue Owl’s co-president Craig Packer told host Lisa Lee on the Credit Exchange podcast. The direct lending segment that competes with leveraged loans and high-yield bonds will become 45%, maybe as much as 50%, of the leveraged finance market over a five year period. That’s raising questions a...

Volatility creates opportunity, Michael Zawadzki, global CIO of Blackstone Credit & Insurance, told host Lisa Lee on the Credit Exchange podcast. “Stick with the fundamentals that have been working for us and look to play offense where volatility creates opportunity,” said Zawadzki. In the seven or eight days following the 2 April tariff announcement, Blackstone traded over USD 5 billion of li...

The expected M&A rebound may take longer to materialise, but it will come, Vivek Bantwal, co-head of global private credit at Goldman Sachs, said on the Credit Exchange podcast. Both public markets and private markets have a place, and in some areas, there’s been a blurring of the lines between the two, Bantwal told Lisa Lee, the managing editor of Creditflux. Given Goldman’s role at the centr...

The Trump administration chose a shock-and-awe approach to begin tariff negotiations, and backpedalling from the more extreme stances is the right decision, said Jonathan Dorfman, co-founder and CIO of alternative credit manager Napier Park Global Capital, on the latest ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. Regardless, it’s clear there will be some tariffs, and credit investors should take that...

For private credit, the best dealmaking times are when there’s more volatility, says Mattis Poetter, chief investment officer of leading European private credit firm Arcmont Asset Management, on the latest edition of the ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. “Volatility is generally a very good thing for us in terms of dealmaking and new underwriting,” Poetter told host Lisa Lee, managing edito...

The markets are experiencing a bumpier road than expected on January 1st, said Daniel Pietrzak, global head of private credit at KKR, on the latest issue of the Credit Exchange podcast. Markets have shifted in the past eight weeks, or from the election in November, but the economy still remains in pretty good shape, Pietrzak told Lisa Lee, managing editor at Creditflux. KKR is starting to see a co...

Recent volatility has opened up fresh opportunities in credit, says John Wright, global head of credit at Bain Capital, in the latest “Credit Exchange” podcast. Wright spoke with Lisa Lee, the managing editor at Creditflux, on his expectations for spread direction – wider, he believes – and compelling opportunities in both public and private debt. “Uncertainty begets wider spreads, and wider sprea...